The Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) is a doctoral degree that prepares nurses a) to practice in an advanced nursing role in a specialization and b) to lead innovative, evidence-based practice initiatives that positively impact quality improvements and outcomes in healthcare systems.
There are 3 specializations for the post-bachelor’s DNP: Family Nurse Practitioner, Educational Leadership and Healthcare Leadership.
The Family Nurse Practitioner tracks prepares DNP graduates to be leaders in primary care by developing clinical expertise in managing health and illness across the lifespan within diverse settings. This track allows graduates to address healthcare issues affecting individuals and communities by implementing evidence-based interventions to create healthier individuals and communities.
The Educational Leadership track prepares DNP graduates to be educational leaders in healthcare facilities, community organizations or academic institutions. The focus is on the continuum of education in nursing beginning with educating nursing students in academic settings to professional development of nurses in a healthcare setting to health promotion and disease prevention activities for patients and communities.
The Healthcare Leadership track prepares DNP graduates to lead complex healthcare systems in multiple settings, including primary care, acute care, academic, professional, governmental, accrediting agencies, and nonprofits. Nurses in administrative roles and those seeking administrative roles would benefit from a DNP with a track in healthcare leadership.
The program of study requires a minimum of 1,000 post-baccalaureate hours of supervised clinical practice in an advanced nursing role and in the leadership component of the D.N.P. program.
Check departmental information for additional requirements.
The student learning outcomes for this degree are located at http://www.niu.edu/assessment/clearinghouse/outcomes/.